JPH06156704A - Article carrying pallet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the pick-up of articles to be carried separately without providing a pick-up device by providing a belt conveyor, which includes a travelling belt stretched between pulleys arranged in both ends of a pallet main body, and using this travelling belt to form a desk board. CONSTITUTION:A linear gantry robot 11 picks up an article W to be carried, which is placed on a pallet P arranged in a pallet delivery station frame 43, with a robot hand 41. The robot hand 41 of the linear gantry robot 11 can not move in the Y-axis direction, but since a travelling belt 59 travels in the Y-axis direction with the normal and reverse rotation of a pulley 55 driven by a motor, the article W to be carried, which is placed on an upper span part 59a, is moved in the Y-axis direction, and the article W to be carried itself is positioned at a position, where the article W can be picked up by the robot hand 41 of the linear gantry robot 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article conveying pallet, and more particularly to an article conveying pallet used in a sheet metal working system or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an article conveying pallet is composed of a rectangular frame having a flat deck board and holds conveyed articles (loads) on the deck board.

In the sheet metal processing system, the article conveying pallet is a plate material processed by a plate material processing device, a product after processing is placed on a deck board,
It is transferred by a variety of conveying devices between a shelf device which is a product stocker and a plate material processing device.

[0004]

The conventional article transporting pallet as described above is particularly suitable for transporting processed plate materials, products, and other transported articles for each article transporting pallet, that is, one article transporting pallet unit. This does not cause any inconvenience, but when the conveyed articles are placed at multiple points on the deck board and the conveyed articles are individually picked up from the deck board to convey the conveyed articles individually, the article transfer station In order for the pickup device to approach each of the conveyed articles on the deck board of the arranged article conveying pallet, the pickup device needs to have a function of moving with respect to the conveyed article on the deck board. This increases the number of axes of the pickup device, and increasing the number of axes of the pickup device only for this purpose is wasteful and is not preferable in terms of system design.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and the conveyed articles placed at a plurality of positions on the deck board can be individually mounted without increasing the number of axes of the pickup device. It is an object to provide a pallet for transporting articles that is configured to be picked up.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a rectangular pallet body, and a belt conveyor including a traveling belt that is stretched between pulleys arranged at both ends of the pallet body. And a deck board is constituted by the traveling belt of the belt conveyor.

[0007]

According to the above-mentioned structure, the deck board is provided by the traveling belt of the belt conveyor, the article to be conveyed is placed on the traveling belt, and the traveling belt travels.
The conveyed article moves onto this traveling belt, and the conveyed article itself is positioned at the pickup position on the article conveying pallet.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 4 show an embodiment of a sheet metal working system in which an article conveying pallet according to the present invention is used. The sheet metal processing system includes a shelf device 3 arranged on the factory floor surface 1 and a rectangular plate material processing area 5 provided in front of the shelf device 3 on the factory floor surface 1.

In the plate material processing area 5, a suitable number of plate material processing devices 7 such as a plate material bending machine such as a turret punch press, a shearing machine, and a press brake are arranged in a scattered manner, and an area which is an air transport device. A gantry robot 9 is provided. A niria gantry robot 11 is provided on the factory floor 1.

The shelf device 3 has a plurality of pallet support shelf bars 13 in the lateral direction (Y-axis direction) and a plurality of upper and lower stages. The pallet P is stored in each of the pallet support shelf bars 13 so that the pallet P can be freely taken in and out. . The pallet P is configured such that the plate material processed by the plate material processing device 7 and the processed product are stacked and placed.

In this embodiment, the shelf device 3 is
In addition to processed plate materials and processed products, dies, jigs, area gantry robots 9 used in the plate material processing device 7,
A hand device or the like used in the linear gantry robot 11 can be stored in and out freely, and accordingly, as the pallet P stored in and out of the shelf device 3 as a pallet P for plate materials and products. In addition to the above, there is prepared a type in which a die used in the plate material processing apparatus 7, a jig, an area gantry robot 9, and a robot hand used in the linear gantry robot 11 are placed.

A pallet loading / unloading stacker crane 15 for loading / unloading the pallet P to / from each pallet supporting shelf bar 13 is provided on the back side of the shelf device 3. The pallet loading / unloading stacker crane 15 may have a well-known general structure, and the upper and lower guide rails 17 extending in the extending direction of the shelf device 3, that is, the Y-axis direction which is the left-right direction in FIG.
The traveling frame body 1 that is guided by the vehicle and travels in the extending direction of the shelf device 3.
9, the elevator frame 21 is vertically movable on the traveling frame 19. Although not shown in the figure, the elevator cargo bed 21 is provided with a tracker having a well-known structure for loading and unloading the pallet P with respect to the pallet support shelf bars 13.

The area gantry robot 9 is a Cartesian type surface-movable cargo handling robot, which is hung between the upper ends of columns 23 standing upright at the four corners of the rectangular plate material processing region 5 and is parallel to the Y axis. Supported by the traveling beam 27, a pair of traveling guide beams 25 extending in the direction, a traveling beam 27 spanning between the pair of traveling guide beams 25, guided by the traveling guide beam 25 and traveling back and forth in the Y-axis direction. The slider 29 has a slider 29 that reciprocates in the extending direction of the traveling beam 27, that is, the X-axis direction, and a vertical arm 31 that moves in the vertical direction, that is, the Z-axis direction, on the slider 29. It has a robot arm rotatable about a vertical axis and rotatable about a horizontal axis, and constitutes a 5-axis Cartesian coordinate robot as a whole.

At the tip of the robot arm of the area gantry robot 9, a robot hand (not shown) for holding various stored items on the pallet P is replaceably attached, and various robot hands are detachably attached to the robot arm. Are stored on a pallet P supported by a predetermined pallet support shelf bar 13 of the shelf device 3.

The traveling beam 2 of the area gantry robot 9
7 is horizontally disposed at a position higher than the plate material processing device 7 arranged in the plate material processing area 5, so that the traveling beam 27, the slider 29, the vertical arm 31, the robot arm (not shown), and the robot hand are plate-shaped on the bridge. The space above the device 7 can freely move in the plate material processing region 5 in the front-rear and left-right directions without colliding with the plate material processing device 7, that is, in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction orthogonal to each other without any restriction. You are free.

At a predetermined stage position of the shelf device 3, there is provided a pallet delivery station frame 33 projecting forward so as to be located on the arrangement side of the area gantry robot 9, that is, in the plate material processing area 5. The pallet delivery station frame 33 is an aerial station at a higher position at a relatively high number of stages that matches the normal moving height of a robot hand (not shown) of the area gantry robot 9. The pallet P supported by the pallet support shelf bars 13 located at the same height as the pallet P is supported by an unillustrated tracker of the elevator loading platform 21 of the pallet loading / unloading stacker crane 15 or an unillustrated robot hand of the area gantry robot 9. Get in and out.

In this case, the area gantry robot 9
The pallet P placed on the pallet delivery station frame 33, or the mold and jig on the pallet P are gripped by a robot hand at the tip of a robot arm (not shown), and the pallet delivery station frame 33 conveys the pallet P to the destination. The sheet material is transported in the air in the suspended state with the shortest distance beyond the overhead of the sheet material processing device 7 in the sheet material processing area 5.

The linear gantry robot 11 is guided by a ceiling rail 35 and reciprocally runs in the X-axis direction.
7, a slider 37 has a vertical arm 39 that moves in the vertical direction, that is, the Z-axis direction, and the vertical arm 39 has a robot hand 41 that picks up a conveyed article.

This linear gantry robot 11 conveys stored items in the air between another pallet delivery station frame body 43 provided on the shelf device 3 and an appropriate auxiliary device 45 arranged on the factory floor 1. Do the ceremony. Note that the pallet delivery station frame body 43 is also arranged at a high position and exhibits an aerial station like the pallet delivery station frame body 35.

As one of the pallets P used in the sheet metal working system as described above, there is a pallet P with a traveling belt as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The pallet P has a pallet body 47 formed of a rectangular frame,
Wheels 49 are attached to the pallet body 47.
The pallet body 47 has a rectangular shape that is long in the left-right direction in FIG. 2, that is, in the Y-axis direction, and pulleys 55 and 57 are rotatably supported by pulley shafts 51 and 53 at both ends in the Y-axis direction. . An endless belt-shaped traveling belt 59 is wound around the pulleys 55 and 57, and a flat upspan portion 59a of the traveling belt 59 extends in the Y-axis direction to form a deck board of the pallet P.

A large number of backup rollers 61 are arranged on the bottom surface side of the upper belt portion 59a of the traveling belt 59 to prevent the upper blade portion 59a from being bent due to the weight of the conveyed article W placed on the upper belt portion 59a. There is.

The pulley 55 is composed of a motor built-in pulley having a motor 63 built therein and is driven by the motor 63 to rotate forward and backward.

On the side of the pallet body 47, as shown in FIG. 4, an electric outlet 6 for supplying power to the motor 63 and a signal line for controlling the motor 63 is provided.
5 is provided by a halt 67 and a spring 69 so as to be floatable.

As shown in FIG. 4, a fluid pressure cylinder device 73 is attached to the pallet delivery station frame body 43 by a bracket 71, and a piston rod 75 of the fluid pressure cylinder device 73 is connected to a power outlet 77. Is installed. The power outlet 77 is
Due to the fluid pressure cylinder device 73, the retracted position separated from the electric outlet 65 as shown by the solid line in the figure and the electric outlet 6 as shown by the phantom line in the figure.
5 and an advanced position in connecting engagement.

A location plate 81 having location holes 79 is attached to the pallet body 47, and location pins 85 driven by a fluid pressure cylinder device 83 are provided on the pallet delivery station frame body 43. The location pin 85 fits into the location hole 79 when the pallet P is located at the regular position of the pallet delivery station frame 43, and locks the pallet P at the regular position of the pallet delivery station frame 43.

Since the pallet P is located at the regular position on the pallet delivery station frame 43, the electric outlet 65 faces the power source-side outlet 77, and in this state, the power source-side outlet 77 is operated by the fluid pressure cylinder device 73. Electric power 65 for driving the motor 63 and a control signal are supplied from the power source side outlet 77 to the electric outlet 65 by being engaged with the electric outlet 65.

The pallet delivery station frame 4
3, a stopper 87 is provided on the upper left side in FIGS. 2 and 3 to prevent the conveyed article W on the upspan portion 59a of the traveling belt 59 from falling.

According to the configuration as described above, the linear gantry robot 11 has the pallet delivery station frame body 43.
The robot hand 41 picks up the conveyed article W on the pallet P arranged at. Even if the robot hand 41 of the linear gantry robot 11 cannot move in the Y-axis direction, the traveling belt 59 travels in the Y-axis direction due to the forward / reverse rotation drive of the pulley 55 by the motor 63, and on the upper pan 59a of the traveling belt 59. If the transported article W placed is Y
By moving in the axial direction, the conveyed article W itself comes to be positioned at a position where it can be picked up by the robot hand 41 of the linear gantry robot 11.

As a result, even if the conveyed articles W are placed at a plurality of positions in the Y-axis direction on the upper portion 59a of the traveling belt 59, the conveyed articles W can be individually picked up by the robot hand 41. .

[0031]

As can be understood from the above description, according to the article conveying pallet of the present invention, the deck board is provided by the traveling belt of the belt conveyor, and the conveyed article is placed on the traveling belt and travels. By the traveling of the belt, the conveyed article moves on the traveling belt, and the conveyed article itself moves to the pickup position on the article conveying pallet. Therefore, it is possible to increase the number of axes of the pickup device without increasing the number of axes on the deck board. It becomes possible to individually pick up the conveyed articles placed on the spots, and it is possible to prevent the pickup device from being complicated only for this pickup.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a sheet metal processing system in which an article conveying pallet according to the present invention is used.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an article conveying pallet according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an article conveying pallet according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing an essential part of an embodiment of an article conveying pallet according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Factory floor 3 Shelving device 5 Plate material processing area 7 Plate material processing device 9 Area gantry robot 11 Linear gantry robot 15 Pallet loading / unloading stacker crane 35 Pallet delivery station frame 43 Pallet delivery station frame 47 Pallet body 55, 57 Pulley 59 Travel Belt 65 Electric outlet 77 Power outlet 79 Location hole 85 Location pin P pallet

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rectangular pallet body, and a belt conveyor including a traveling belt hung between pulleys arranged at both ends of the pallet body, and the traveling belt of the belt conveyor constitutes a deck board. A pallet for transporting articles, characterized in that